Take charge of your retirement planning
Check your retirement income plans are ready with the specialists at Destination Retirement
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Pension calculator - how much money will I have?
Use our calculator to get a better idea of how much your pension savings are likely to be worth by the time you retire
How much will my pension be worth at retirement?
Our pension calculator gives you an idea of how much your savings could be worth at retirement.
To get a fuller picture of the income you could expect to get in retirement, you'll also need to factor in the state pension.
What are my pension options?
If you have a defined contribution pension, you'll need to consider how to turn your pension savings into an income to live on after you've stopped working.
You can take up to 25% of your pot tax-free from the age of 55 (rising to 57 in 2028), and then access the rest of the money using any combination of the following:
Buy an annuity
An annuity lets you swap your pension savings for a guaranteed regular income that will last for the rest of your life.
How much you get is determined by the value of savings you want to exchange and the rate offered by the annuity provider you choose.
The certainty that annuities offer is their main selling point, but once you've arranged an annuity, you can’t alter your level of income or switch to another provider.
If you take out an annuity as a result of using the service from HUB Financial Solutions, Which? will earn a commission to help fund our not-for-profit mission.
Check your annuity options and compare across the whole market with HUB Financial Solutions. Find the best option for you.
Use pension drawdown
Pension drawdown involves keeping your savings invested when you reach retirement. You can then take money out as you wish.
Flexibility is the big selling point, as drawdown allows you to tailor your income to match your circumstances. But it also comes with risks.
Take out too much, too soon and you could run out of money. Plus, the value of your pot could take a hit if your investments underperform.
- Find out more: best pension drawdown providers • Pension drawdown calculator
Take lump sums
You can leave money in your pension and take out lump sums when you need to.
You can only opt for this if you haven’t already taken any tax-free cash or income from your pension.
With each lump sum you take, 25% will be tax-free, and the rest is treated as income and taxed in the same way
You can also choose to cash in your entire pension, but this could generate a high income tax bill and increase your risk of running out of money later in retirement.
- Find out more: your options for accessing your pension